The Office S04E11
“Night Out”
On behalf of men everywhere, Mindy Kaling, we’re sorry. Clearly some of us have done you wrong, and we would like to apologize for it. It’s not you it’s us, we’re sorry that we did that to you but you don’t need to hold a grudge like this. For those who missed it, there was quite a bit of man-hating going on in The Office last night.
I like the way that as time progresses it becomes easier to spot a writer’s voice in a given episode. It shows a level of familiarity that most shows are not able to achieve. Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak have the two most distinctive voices on the show. This one had Mindy written all over it, the way that she writes for every character is distinct as is the B-stories that she chooses to pursue.
The A-story tonight, Michael and Dwight go clubbing with Ryan, who is now a huge coke-head, was fine. It was nothing earth shattering. Though, I am continuing to feel more and more pity for Michael, the guy who calls his mom when girls reject him at a night club. As he said, “It’s not the horniness, it’s the loneliness.” The man just needs a connection. But, as we saw last week, he is often the cause of many of the problems in his own life. His demand for someone aesthetically pleasing leads him into rejecting those who are good for him. It leads him to sleeping on the foot of his own bed, which occurred when he was with Jan, just so he could try to have real love in his life.
Dwight is the best wingman there is. I loved him emptying out the drink that the female basketball player bought for him, and then later making out with her gratuitously in the bar. It’s a shame that he hasn’t gotten over Angela yet, because it seems that Dwight Schrute is in high demand.
While the A-story was all flash and glitz, the B-story had all the substance of the episode. It’s pretty obvious that the parallels are being established between Jim and Michael. Jim’s incompetence at trying to get the denizens of the office out of the parking lot only pushes this theme which has been present throughout the season. I love that Jim is being portrayed as a flawed human, and also a little bit of a douche, because the show often runs the risk of preciousness when it deals with the Jim-Pam relationship.
While locked in the office park, Toby was the cause of the forward momentum tonight. A couple of comments led to Toby putting his hand on Pam’s leg in view of everyone. In the ensuing awkwardness, he jumped the fence in order to run home. Toby is a sad man. There are very few ways to say it, but he is a sad man who has been hurt throughout his life. His feelings for Pam are one of the very few things that gets him through the day. Pam obviously knows about the feelings and is flattered by them, yet this flattery prevents her from doing what she must. She should have put Toby out of his misery a long time ago. As much as I root for Toby, as much as I want happiness for the underdog, I recognize that this cannot be. Toby’s only recourse is to leave for Costa Rica.
